    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book III)]
    [October 6, 2004]
    [Pages 2379-2386]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in Farmington Hills, Michigan
    October 6, 2004

        The President. Thank you all for coming. You know what I think,
    Bill? I think that with the help of
    these good folks here, we'll carry Michigan. We'll win a great victory
    in November, and I'll be there in the White House when you come back.
        Listen, I appreciate you coming. Thanks for coming today. We're
    coming down the stretch. I'm here to ask for your vote, and I'm here to
    ask for your help. Register your friends and neighbors. Make sure you
    don't overlook discerning Democrats, people like Zell Miller. Get people headed to the polls, and remind them, if they
    want a safer America, a stronger America, and a better America, to put
    me and Dick Cheney back in office.
        Speaking about the Vice President, I'm sure
    some of you stayed up to watch the debate last night. America saw two
    different visions of our country and two different hair styles.
    [Laughter] America saw why I picked Dick Cheney to be the Vice
    President. He's strong. He's steady. He knows what he's talking about.
        Laura sends her best. She's warming up for
    the Jay Leno show. He's lucky to have her as a
    guest, and I'm lucky to have her as a wife. She is a great First Lady.
    Perhaps the most important reason to put me back into office, is so that
    Laura will be the First Lady for 4 more years.
        I appreciate Bill Laimbeer for
    being here. I also want to thank another great leader and sports figure
    of your great State, Bo Schembechler is with us today as well. I appreciate you bringing
    Cathryn.
        I also want to thank the attorney general, Mike Cox. My longtime friend Brooks Patterson is with us today. I thank Ruth Johnson and other State and local officials. I want to thank
    Betsy DeVos and all the grassroots
    activists who are here. I appreciate what you're doing. I appreciate the
    hard work you're doing.
        I want to thank Mary Spangler, the
    chancellor of the Oakland Community College, and Ed
    Callaghan, who's the president. Thank
    you all for having me.
        I want to thank my friend Mark Wills, country
    and western singer, for being here. Most of all, thank you all for being
    here.
        In less than a month, you'll have a chance to vote for Dick
    Cheney and me. As your President, I've worked to
    make America more hopeful and more secure. I've led our country with
    principle and resolve, and that is how I'll lead our Nation for 4 more
    years.
        When I took office in 2001, the bubble of the nineties had burst and
    our economy was headed into a recession. Because of the attacks of
    September the 11th, nearly a million jobs were lost in 3 months. It

    [[Page 2380]]

    was a dangerous time for our economy. People were warning of potential
    deflation and depression, but I led. To stimulate the economy, I called
    on Congress to pass historic tax relief, which it did. The tax relief
    was the fuel that got our economy growing again. Thanks to the efforts
    of our citizens and the right policies at the right place at the right
    time, we put the recession behind us, and America is creating jobs
    again.
        We have built a broad and solid record of accomplishment. In the
    past year, the United States of America has added about 1.7 million new
    jobs, more than Germany, Japan, Great Britain, Canada, and France
    combined. Real tax--real after-tax income, the money in your pocket that
    you have to spend on groceries and house payments and rent, is up more
    than 10 percent since I took office. Homeownership is at an alltime high
    in America. The farm economy is strong. The entrepreneurial spirit is
    alive and well. The small-business sector of America is doing well.
        Thanks to our reforms in education, math and reading scores are
    increasing in our public schools. Under my budget, 10 million students
    will get record levels of grants and loans to help with college. Low-
    income seniors are getting $600 extra to help pay for medicine this
    year, and soon Medicare will offer prescription drug coverage to every
    senior in America. We've made America stronger, and we're just getting
    started.
        Listen, I understand we're living in changing times--people are
    living and working in a time of change. Workers switch jobs more often
    than they used to, which means they need, oftentimes need new skills and
    new benefits that they can take with them from job to job. Ultimately,
    in our competitive global economy, it's our people that make America
    successful, and that's why I believe education is so vital.
        So we'll raise standards and expectations for every public school in
    America. We'll invest in our Nation's fine community colleges, like this
    one right here, so they prepare workers for the jobs of the 21st
    century. We'll expand health savings accounts so people can pay health
    expenses with tax-free money. We'll improve Social Security to allow
    younger workers to own a piece of their retirement, a nest egg that
    Washington, DC, politicians can never take away.
        To keep our economy strong and competitive, we must make sure
    America is the best place in the world to do business. That's why we
    need to make our tax relief permanent for our small businesses and our
    families. To keep jobs here, we need to cut needless regulations. To
    keep jobs here, we need to pass an energy plan that makes our Nation
    less dependent on foreign sources of energy. To make sure we got jobs
    here, we need to stop these junk and frivolous lawsuits that badger our
    employers.
        My opponent and I have a very different
    view as how to grow our economy. We have a difference of opinion. Let's
    start with taxes. I have a record of reducing them. He has a record of
    raising them.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. He voted in the United
    States Senate to raise taxes 98 times.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. That sounds like a lot to me. He voted for higher taxes on Social Security benefits.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. He voted in 1997 for the
    formula that has helped cause the increases in Medicare premiums.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. Remember when I proposed middle class tax relief in
    order to get this economy going? I asked Congress to raise the child
    credit, reduce the marriage penalty, and create a new 10-percent bracket
    for lower income Americans. He voted against
    every one of those taxes to help the middle class.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. Now he's proposing higher
    taxes--higher taxes on about 900,000 small-business owners.

    [[Page 2381]]

        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. Remember when you hear him
    say ``tax the rich,'' a lot of small businesses pay individual income
    taxes. As a matter of fact, 90 percent of small businesses do. And we've
    heard that rhetoric, haven't we, ``tax the rich''? Yes. That's why the
    rich hire lawyers and accountants, to stick you with the bill, to stick
    those small-business owners with the bill. We're not going to let him
    tax you; we're going to win Michigan and win in November.
        My opponent is one of the few candidates
    in history to campaign on a pledge to raise taxes. That's the kind of
    pledge a politician from Massachusetts usually keeps. [Laughter]
        We have a different view on another threat to our economy, frivolous
    lawsuits. Senator Kerry has been a part of the
    Washington crowd that has obstructed legal reform again and again.
    Meanwhile, all across America, unfair lawsuits are hurting small
    businesses. Lawsuits are driving up the cost of your health care.
    Lawsuits are driving good doctors out of the practice of medicine. We
    need a President who will stand up to the trial lawyers in Washington,
    not put one on the ticket.
        The Senator and I have very different
    views on health care. I believe we ought to help the poor with community
    health centers. We ought to fully subscribe to the children's health
    program for low-income families. We need association health plans to
    help our small businesses afford insurance. We need health savings
    accounts to help our workers and small businesses be able to better
    afford insurance. We need to make sure we use technology to help drive
    down the cost of medicine.
        He has a different view. Under his health
    plan, 8 million Americans would lose the private insurance they get at
    work and most would end up on a Government program.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. Under his plan, 8 out of 10 people who get new
    insurance will get it from the Federal Government. My opponent's proposal would be the largest expansion of
    Government-run health care ever. And when Government pays the bills,
    Government makes the rules. His plan would put bureaucrats in charge of
    dictating coverage, which could ration your care and limit your choice
    of doctors. My opponent's plan would put us on the path to ``Hillary-
    care.''
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. In everything we do to reform health care, we will
    make sure the decisions are made by patients and doctors, not by
    bureaucrats in Washington, DC.
        My opponent and I have different views on
    spending--spending your money. Over the years he's voted 274 times to
    break Federal budget limits. And in this campaign, he's announced more
    than $2 trillion in new spending, and that's a lot of money, even for
    somebody from Massachusetts.
        During his 20 years as a Senator, my opponent hasn't had many accomplishments. Of the hundreds of bills
    he submitted, only five became law. One of them was ceremonial. But to
    be fair, he's earned a special distinction in Congress. The nonpartisan
    National Journal analyzed his record and named John Kerry the most
    liberal Member of the United States Senate.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. And when the competition includes Ted
    Kennedy, that's really saying something.
    [Laughter] Listen, it wasn't easy for my opponent to become the single most liberal Member of the Senate.
    You might even say it was hard work. [Laughter] But he earned that
    title. He earned it by voting for higher taxes, more regulation, more
    junk lawsuits, and more Government control over your life.
        And that sets up one of the real differences in this campaign. My
    opponent is a tax-and-spend liberal. I'm a
    compassionate conservative. My opponent wants to empower Government. I
    want to use Government to empower citizens. My opponent seems to think
    all the wisdom is found in

    [[Page 2382]]

    Washington, DC. I trust the wisdom of the American people.
        Our differences are also clear on issues of national security. When
    I took office in 2001, the threats to America had been gathering for
    years. Then on one terrible morning, terrorists took more lives than
    America lost at Pearl Harbor. Since that day, we've waged a global
    campaign to protect the American people and bring our enemies to
    account. Our Government has trained over a half a million first-
    responders and tripled spending on homeland security. Law enforcement
    and intelligence have better tools to stop terrorists, thanks to the
    PATRIOT Act, which Senator Kerry voted for but
    now wants to weaken.
        The Taliban regime that sheltered Al Qaida is gone from power, and
    the people of Afghanistan will vote in free elections this coming
    Saturday. A black market network that provided weapons materials to
    North Korea and Libya and Iran is now out of business. Libya, itself,
    has given up its weapons of mass destruction. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia
    are joining the fight against the terrorists, and more than three-
    quarters of Al Qaida's key members and associates have been brought to
    justice.
        After September the 11th, America had to assess every potential
    threat in a new light. Our Nation awakened to an even greater danger,
    the prospect that terrorists who killed thousands with hijacked
    airplanes would kill many more with weapons of mass murder. We had to
    take a hard look at everyplace where terrorists might get those weapons.
        One regime stood out, the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. We knew the dictator had a history of using weapons of
    mass destruction, a long record of aggression and hatred for America,
    and was listed by Republican and Democrat administrations as a state
    sponsor of terror. There was a risk that Saddam Hussein would pass
    weapons or materials or information to terrorists networks. In a world
    after September the 11th, that was a risk we could not afford to take.
        After 12 years of United Nations Security Council resolutions, we
    gave him a final chance to come clean and
    prove his disarmament. He chose defiance. And when he did, he chose war.
    Our coalition enforced the just demands of the free world, and the world
    is better off today with Saddam Hussein in a prison cell.
        We have had many victories in the war on terror, and that war goes
    on. Our Nation is safer but not yet safe. To win this war, we must fight
    on every front. We will stay on the offensive against terrorist
    networks. We will strike them overseas so we do not have to face them
    here at home. We will confront governments that support terrorists and
    could arm them, because they're equally guilty of terrorist murder.
        And our long-term victory requires confronting the ideology of hate
    with freedom and hope. Our long-term victory says we must change the
    conditions that produce radicalism and suicide bombers. Our long-term
    security depends upon finding new democratic allies in a troubled region
    of the world.
        America is always more secure when freedom is on the march, and
    freedom is on the march in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and elsewhere. There
    will be good days, and there will be bad days in the war on terror. But
    every day we will show our resolve and do our duty to future generations
    of Americans. This Nation is determined. We will stay in the fight until
    the fight is won.
        My opponent agrees with all this, except
    when he doesn't. [Laughter] Last week in----
        Audience members. Flip-flop! Flip-flop! Flip-flop!
        The President. Last week in our debate, he
    once again came down firmly on every side of the Iraq war. [Laughter] He
    stated that Saddam Hussein was a threat and
    that America had no business removing that threat. Senator Kerry said
    our soldiers and marines are not fighting for a ``mistake,'' but he also
    called the liberation of Iraq a ``colossal error.''

    [[Page 2383]]

        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. He said we need to do more
    to train Iraqis, but he also said we shouldn't be spending so much money
    over there. He said he wants to hold a summit meeting, so he wants--so
    he can invite other countries to join what he calls the ``wrong war at
    the wrong place at the wrong time.'' He said terrorists are pouring
    across the Iraqi border but also said that fighting those terrorists is
    a ``diversion'' from the war on terror. If you hear all that, you can
    understand why somebody would make a face. [Laughter]
        Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
        The President. My opponent--my opponent's
    endless back-and-forth on Iraq is part of a larger misunderstanding. In
    the war on terror, Senator Kerry is proposing policies and doctrines
    that would weaken America and make the world more dangerous. Senator
    Kerry approaches the world with a September the 10th mindset. He
    declared in his convention speech that any attack will be met with a
    swift and a certain response. This was a mindset of the 1990s, while Al
    Qaida was planning attacks on America. After September the 11th, our
    object in the war on terror is not to wait for the next attack and
    respond, but to prevent attacks by taking the fight to the enemy.
        Audience members. U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
        The President. In our debate, Senator Kerry said that removing Saddam was a
    mistake because the threat was not imminent. The problem with this
    approach is obvious. If America waits until a threat is at our doorstep,
    it might be too late to save lives. Tyrants and terrorists will not give
    us polite notice before they launch an attack on our country. I refuse
    to stand by while dangers gather.
        My opponent has also announced the Kerry
    doctrine, declaring that American actions in the war on terror must pass
    a ``global test.''
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. Under this test, America would not be able to act
    quickly against threats because we'd be sitting around waiting for our
    grade from other nations. I have a different view. America will always
    work with our allies for security and peace, but the President's job is
    not to pass a ``global test.'' The President's job is to protect the
    American people.
        When my opponent first ran for Congress,
    he argued that American troops should be deployed only at the directive
    of the United Nations.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. Now, look, he has changed
    his mind, but it is a window into his thinking. Over the years, Senator
    Kerry has looked for every excuse to constrain America's actions in the
    world. These days he praises America's broad coalition in the Persian
    Gulf war, but in 1991, he criticized those coalition members as, quote,
    ``shallow battlefield allies who barely carry a burden.'' Sounds
    familiar. And that time, he voted against the war. If that coalition
    didn't pass his ``global test,'' clearly nothing will. His mindset would
    paralyze America in a dangerous world. I will never hand over America's
    national security decisions to foreign leaders or international bodies.
        The Kerry doctrine has other consequences,
    especially for our men and women in uniform. The Senator from
    Massachusetts supports the International Criminal Court----
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. ----which would allow unaccountable foreign
    prosecutors and judges to put American soldiers on trial.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. And that would be a legal nightmare for our troops.
    My fellow citizens, as long as I'm your President, Americans in uniform
    will answer to the officers and laws of the United States, not to the
    International Criminal Court in The Hague.
        The Senator speaks often about his plan to
    strengthen America's alliances, but he's

    [[Page 2384]]

    got an odd way of going about it. In the middle of the war, he's chosen
    to insult America's fighting allies by calling them ``window dressing''
    and a ``coalition of the coerced and the bribed.'' The Italians who died
    in Nasiriyah were not window dressing. They were heroes in the war on
    terror. The British and Poles at the head of multinational divisions in
    Iraq were not coerced or bribed. They have fought and some have died in
    the cause of freedom. These good allies and dozens of others deserve the
    respect of all Americans, not the scorn of a politician.
        Instead, the Senator would have America
    bend over backwards to satisfy a handful of governments with agendas
    different from our own. This is my opponent's alliance-building
    strategy: Brush off your best friend; fawn over your critics. And that's
    no way to gain respect in this world.
        My opponent says he has a plan for Iraq.
    Parts of it sound pretty familiar. It's already known as the Bush plan.
    Senator Kerry suggests we train Iraqi troops. That's what we've been
    doing for months. Senator Kerry is proposing that Iraq have elections.
    Those elections are scheduled for January. He wants the U.N. to be
    involved in those elections. The U.N. is already there. There's one new
    element of Senator Kerry's plan. He talked about artificial timetables
    to pull the troops out of Iraq. He has sent the signal that America's
    overriding goal in Iraq would be to leave, even if the job isn't done.
    That may satisfy his political needs, but it complicates the essential
    work we're doing in Iraq.
        The Iraqi people need to know that America will not cut and run,
    with their freedom at stake. Our soldiers and marines need to know that
    America will honor their service and sacrifice by completing the
    mission. Our enemies in Iraq need to know that they can never out last
    the will of America. Senator Kerry assures us
    that he's the one to win a war he calls a ``mistake'' or an ``error''
    and a ``diversion.'' But you can't win a war you don't believe in
    fighting. On Iraq, Senator Kerry has a strategy of retreat; I have a
    strategy for victory.
        We returned sovereignty to the Iraqi people ahead of schedule. We've
    trained about 100,000 Iraqi soldiers, police officers, and other
    security personnel. And the total will rise to 125,000 by the end of
    this year. These people are fighting for their freedom. They want to be
    free. They're being trained to be able to fight and stop these
    terrorists from preventing the march of freedom. We've allocated more
    than $7 billion for reconstruction efforts so more Iraqis can see the
    benefit of freedom. We're working with a coalition of some 30 nations to
    provide security. Other nations are helping with debt relief and
    reconstruction aid for Iraqis. And although terrorists will try to stop
    them, Iraq will hold free elections in January, because the Iraqi people
    want to be free.
        I understand some Americans have strong concerns about our role in
    Iraq. I respect the fact that they take this issue seriously. It's a
    serious matter. I assure them we're in Iraq because I deeply believe it
    is necessary and right and critical to the outcome of the war on terror
    and critical for long-term peace for our children and grandchildren.
        If another terror regime were allowed to emerge in Iraq, the
    terrorists would find a home and a source of funding and a source of
    support, and they would correctly conclude that free nations do not have
    the will to defend themselves. If Iraq becomes a free society at the
    heart of the Middle East, an ally in the war on terror, a model for
    hopeful reform in that region, the terrorists will suffer a crushing
    defeat.
        And that is why Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman calls Iraq ``a crucial battle in the global war on
    terrorism.'' And that is why Prime Minister Tony Blair has called the struggle in Iraq ``the crucible in which
    the future of global terrorism will be determined.'' That is why the
    terrorists are fighting with desperate cruelty. They know their future
    is at stake. Iraq is no diversion. It's

    [[Page 2385]]

    a place where civilization is taking a decisive stand against chaos and
    terror, and we must not waver.
        Unfortunately, my opponent has been known
    to waver. His well-chosen words and rationalizations cannot explain why
    he voted to authorize force against Saddam Hussein and then voted
    against money for bullets and vehicles and body armor for the troops on
    the ground.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. He tried to clear it up by
    saying, ``I actually did vote for the $87 billion, before I voted
    against it.'' Now he says he made a mistake in how he talked about that
    vote. The mistake is not what Senator Kerry said. The mistake is what
    Senator Kerry did in voting against funding for our troops in combat,
    and that is the kind of wavering a nation at war cannot afford.
        As a candidate, my opponent promises to
    defend America. The problem is, as a Senator for two decades, he has
    built a record of weakness. The record shows he twice led efforts to gut
    our intelligence service budget. The record shows he voted against many
    of the weapons that won the cold war and are vital to current military
    operations. And the record shows he has voted more than 50 times against
    missile defense systems that would help protect us from the threats of a
    dangerous world.
        I have a record in office as well, and all Americans have seen that
    record. Not all Americans agree with me, but they know where I stand.
        On September the 14th, 2001, I stood in the ruins of the Twin
    Towers. It's a day I will never forget. There were workers in hardhats
    yelling to me at the top of their lungs, ``Whatever it takes.'' A guy
    grabbed me by the arm; he said, ``Do not let me down.'' Ever since that
    day I wake up every morning thinking about how to better protect our
    country. I've acted again and again to make America safe. I will never
    relent in defending the people of this country, whatever it takes.
        Audience members. U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
        The President. Twenty-seven days from today, Americans will make a
    critical choice. My opponent offers an agenda
    that is stuck in the thinking and the policies of the past. On national
    security, he offers the defensive, reactive mindset of September the
    10th, a ``global test'' to replace American leadership, a strategy of
    retreat in Iraq, and a 20-year history of weakness in the Senate. Here
    at home, he offers a record and an agenda of more taxes and more
    spending and more litigation and more Government control over your life.
        A race for President is a contest for the future, and you know where
    I stand. I'm running for President to keep this Nation on the offensive
    against the terrorists, with the goal of total victory. I'm running for
    President to keep this economy moving so every worker has a good job and
    quality health care and a secure retirement. I'm running for President
    to make our strong Nation a more compassionate society, where no one is
    left out and every life is valued.
        And I have a hopeful vision. I believe this young century will be
    liberty's century. We'll promote liberty abroad to protect our country
    and to build a better world beyond the war on terror. We'll encourage
    liberty at home to spread the prosperity and opportunity to every corner
    of this great land. I will carry this message to my fellow citizens in
    the closing days of this campaign, and with your help, we'll carry
    Michigan and win a great victory in November.
        Thank you all for coming. God bless. Thank you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:22 p.m. at the Oakland Community College-
    Orchard Ridge Campus. In his remarks, he referred to former professional
    basketball player William Laimbeer, Jr.; Senator Zell Miller of Georgia,
    who made the keynote address at the 2004 Republican National Convention;
    television talk show host Jay Leno; Glenn E.

    [[Page 2386]]

    ``Bo'' Schembechler, former head coach, University of Michigan football
    team, and his wife, Cathy; Michigan State Attorney General Mike Cox;
    Oakland County Chief Executive L. Brooks Patterson; Michigan State
    Representative Ruth Johnson; Betsy DeVos, chairman, Michigan Republican
    Party; and Prime Minister Tony Blair of the United Kingdom.